Newsletter No 2 June 2010

In ecotoxicology increasing emphasis is placed on combined risk assessment, an integrated ecosystem approach for the water system and the relationship with ecosystem services. Professor dr. Dick Vethaak focuses on evaluating water quality and ecosystem health in delta and coastal waters.

Economic incentives can be used complementary to traditional command and control changing the way households and companies use ecosystem services. Professor dr. Roy Brouwer's research focuses on the valuation of ecosystem services and their use in the design of economic instruments like PES using choice experiments.

Causes of increasing economic losses from future flood disasters

Socioeconomic and land-use changes are at least as important for the increase in flood risk as climate change in the coming decade. Using socioeconomic scenarios researcher Laurens Bouwer MSc analyses future disaster risks and inherent economic losses.

Water policy entrepreneurs

Individuals can influence policy trajectories in modern water management. This is demonstrated by an analysis of water policy transitions in fifteen countries, and at European and global levels, in which researcher dr. Dave Huitema analyzed the roles and strategies of the key actors.